At almost 4 1/2 you are perfectly capable of getting yourself dressed. Wiping, flushing, and washing your hands. You brush your own teeth, feed the dog, throw your trash away. Navigate the dark hallways, pick up toys, put your dishes in the sink, rummage through the snack cupboard. Sleep through the night.

But lately you want me to do these things with you or for you.

I get it. I’m a big sister, so I understand that it’s hard being the big brother sometimes. Watching us coo and laugh and take pictures of her first steps, her stuffing her face, clapping. Changing her diaper, rocking her to sleep. Giving her so much attention.

And although you are 4 1/2, it’s beyond your capability to understand that we did all this for you too…we captured and celebrated all your firsts, just like we are capturing and celebrating hers.

So please, help mommy out. I’m tired, I’m stressed, I am always doing a hundred things at once and can’t drop them all to help you wash your hands, when the day before you did that by yourself and more.

I promise to spend more time with just you. I promise I’ll help you find your favorite toy, shoe, race car. I promise I’ll read you that second story and snuggle you at night when you wake up scared.

I think Fussypants is going to like having a sister. When I asked him why he made such a mess, he said “I didn’t, it was her” and pointed to the bookcase bandit crawling away down the hall. Her work there was done.

Hunky hubby and Fussypants have the same shoes. I had no hand in those purchases.

Actually, I think it is kinda cute when they dress the same and can’t wait for me and my baby girl to have the same shoes. I’m totally that mom.

Little Miss is mobile, not yet walking on her own, but crawling like she’s got wheels and an engine. She peeks over her shoulder, giggles when she sees you’re watching and tears off to wreak havoc and destruction. This is the everything off the shelf, everything out of the containers, everything off the plate and onto the floor, everything strewn everywhere phase.

And she’s found my bookcases. You know, the ones I had to buy and have hubby put up in the living room when I turned my library sanctuary into a nursery for Little Miss so I had a place for all my books and cds. The bookcases I debated buying doors for, but decided not to spend the extra money because Fussypants was way past the pull crap off the shelves phase and I actually forgot that kids do that.

You know what I miss? Wow, that is a loaded question, right? How about if I pose it like this…you know what I miss that pertains to the photo in this post?

I miss having time to read. You know what else I miss? My attention span.

Books, unfinished

I’ve got TEN, yes ten books right now that I have started but have not finished. And just to add more stress to my no-time, attention span-missing dilema, I started an 11th (Water for Elephants) on Monday because I want to read it before the movie comes out on Friday, April 22. Like that will happen. And it’s unlikely I’ll actually get to see the movie in the theater anyway. But this gal can hope.

In all honesty, some of these books are just not entertaining me thus I cannot bear to turn and read another page. I dislike not finishing books I’ve started, even if they are not my cup o’tea. But five of them are really good and so close to being done (I only have about 20 pages left) but because I suck at stringing together more than a few minutes for myself at a time I have yet to complete them.

Last weekend my husband, kids and dog were all asleep at the same time. Perfect chance to read, right? Well, I decided to take a nap instead. It was just too much of a lull, all that quiet. So I still have all those books, unfinished, patiently waiting…